Members bigcaleb Posted June 21, 2011 Members Share Posted June 21, 2011 Hey there, New to the forums and wondering if you guys could help me out with this one. My summer project is learning Bob Dylan's self-titled album...but I'm having trouble picking up his picking style. I'm pretty sure he doesn't use a pick, but it sounds like he's frailing or doing some clawhammer variation (to be honest, I'm not super familiar with either term, but I don't think he's classically 'finger-picking') Here's a vid I've been looking at (Man of Constant Sorrow from 1963): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_tD9BuA1ic Can anyone describe (in)exactly what he's doing with his right hand? It'd be greatly appreciated. Thanks for the help! I look forward to contributing and learning from these forums. J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Terry Allan Hall Posted June 21, 2011 Members Share Posted June 21, 2011 Dylan is a MUCH more accomplished a musician than he usually chooses to appear...he can Travis-pick, flatpick and play decent slide...if he chooses to. Listen carefully to "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright" for an example of excellent thumb-forefinger and middle-finger Travis-picking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jersey Jack Posted June 21, 2011 Members Share Posted June 21, 2011 In that video Bob is obviously flat-picking--largely a simple strum, though he's careful to hit the right bass-notes, including several tasty (to my mind) bass runs. The only somewhat unusual thing I see him doing is in his fretting hand, where he lifts on and off the F# bass note with his thumb while playing the D chord. Nothing very complex, but canny, which for me about sums up Bob's early style. I agree with TAH about Bob's musicianship, and I emphatically include his vocals. He is (I'm serious here) one of the great vocal stylists of American popular music. He doesn't sing well in a technical sense, of course, but his vocals are always interesting, engaging, and, yes, canny. This is a great summer project, by the way. That first album is often forgotten, and it really is an astonishing record, one that holds up very well and repays repeated listening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bigcaleb Posted June 21, 2011 Author Members Share Posted June 21, 2011 This is a great summer project, by the way. That first album is often forgotten, and it really is an astonishing record, one that holds up very well and repays repeated listening. Yah, I love it. So far its been pretty easy in terms of the chord structures he uses, but I have a long way to go to approximate his rhythm....I'll be negotiating some of the interesting tunings he uses in the weeks ahead (time to break out the pawn shop guitar). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bluzboy Posted June 22, 2011 Members Share Posted June 22, 2011 Listen carefully to "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright" for an example of excellent thumb-forefinger and middle-finger Travis-picking. In fact, there was considerable debate in Dylan-fan circles a few years back about whether Dylan actually played the guitar on that song (those who said he didn't claimed it was played by Bruce Langhorne). Most likely the whole brouhaha started as a result of Dylan consistently strumming the song whenever he performed it in concert. I tend to believe Dylan played it, as the playing style was very consistent with rest of Freewheelin' and no one was seriously arguing that Langhorne played every song on the album. Moreover, anyone who ever saw the 1964 Quest show (CBC-TV) and his performance of "Girl From the North Country" could instantly spot the similarities in the picking style of the two songs. I can't say with any certainty that the performance was played live (and the absence of any mics or cords as he wandered around the set sort of/almost makes me believe it wasn't). But if it was a pantomime, it was convincing enough for me. Btw, bigcaleb...I strongly suggest tracking down a copy of that show for your study (not sure if it's anywhere on the Internets). Not only does it offer a closeup view of Dylan's many playing styles, but you also get to hear several primo performances in a most unusual setting. http://www.suite101.com/content/bob-dylans-1964-tv-quest-a154975 ETA: Just saw that the performance of "Girl From the North Country" was featured in full in Scorsese's No Direction Home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members garthman Posted June 22, 2011 Members Share Posted June 22, 2011 In that video Bob is obviously flat-picking--largely a simple strum, though he's careful to hit the right bass-notes, including several tasty (to my mind) bass runs. The only somewhat unusual thing I see him doing is in his fretting hand, where he lifts on and off the F# bass note with his thumb while playing the D chord. Nothing very complex, but canny, which for me about sums up Bob's early style.I agree with TAH about Bob's musicianship, and I emphatically include his vocals. He is (I'm serious here) one of the great vocal stylists of American popular music. He doesn't sing well in a technical sense, of course, but his vocals are always interesting, engaging, and, yes, canny. Two excellent and accurate comments. Dylan is primarily a flat-picker and an accomplished one. Like JJ says he has an enviable skill of hitting bass notes and uses a range of walking bass progressions and passing notes that can often give the impression of finger-picking. When he does finger-pick it's usually a simple pattern like a thumb/index, thumb/middle alternating pattern. And, yes, he sure can sing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members OldGuitarPlayer Posted June 22, 2011 Members Share Posted June 22, 2011 Dylan is a big infuence on my acoustic guitar strumming style....from when I was like 14 years old. As I started to play more I began to check out his influences like Woody Guthrie, The Carter Family and Ramblin' Jack Elliott etc... who all have very similar strumming/flatpicking styles. You can see were Dylan got his strumming/picking styles from. Especially when listening to Jack Elliott. That being said I love Dylan's first album as it was very raw and minimalistic. It also gave me the confidence to sing since I figured if he could do it so could I. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members John Bartus Posted June 22, 2011 Members Share Posted June 22, 2011 Another great Bob fingerpicked song is "Tomorrow is a Long Time" from the Greatest Hits Vol. 2 album. It's a solo live performance, and the fingerpicking also has similarities to "Don't Think Twice." BTW, I'd never heard the rumor that Langhorne played "Don't Think Twice." I'd always thought that Dylan played it (and still do). However, a look at Wikipedia revealed this nugget: Also recorded on November 14 was the new composition "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right", accompanied by a virtuoso guitar part played by Bruce Langhorne. This was attributed to Clinton Heylin, a Dylan biographer. So... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jersey Jack Posted June 22, 2011 Members Share Posted June 22, 2011 This controversy over "Don't Think Twice" is interesting. I went back and checked the version on Live at the Gaslight (1962), which is a very early version of the song performed before the studio version was recorded. And lo and behold he does in fact strum through the song. A few bass lines here and there but definitely not the finger-style arrangement we know from the primary recording. This doesn't prove anything, of course.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Terry Allan Hall Posted June 22, 2011 Members Share Posted June 22, 2011 There's a new recording that has just been released, "Bob Dylan in Concert - Brandeis Univerity, 1963", that will likely show an insight into his early style...just ordered it last night, so hope to have it by next week. Includes "Honey Just Allow Me One More Chance" (incomplete), Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bluzboy Posted June 22, 2011 Members Share Posted June 22, 2011 Perhaps the best evidence for Dylan playing "Don't Think Twice" can be heard on last year's Witmark Demos. The set includes an early, rough take of the song being fingerpicked. The playing is much cruder than on the album, but the signature lick is there and it is most certainly Dylan's fingerpicking style. And Terry...if you're interested in exploring his early work, there's no shortage of bootlegs out there for the gathering. I highly recommend Folksinger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mikeguthro Posted June 23, 2011 Members Share Posted June 23, 2011 Another impressive example of Bob's finger picking chops (and harp playing for that matter) is Baby Let Me Follow You Down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members John Bartus Posted June 24, 2011 Members Share Posted June 24, 2011 On the Bootleg Series Vol. 7 (which I'm surprised I didn't remember), there's a demo of "Don't Think Twice" with Bob and his guitar. Fingerpicked. Just like the released version on Freewheelin'. Pretty definitive that Bob played it, and not Mr. Langhorne. Case closed, at least in my mind! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jamesp Posted June 25, 2011 Members Share Posted June 25, 2011 What's needed is an example of Bruce Langhorne fingerpicking that well. That's a great link bluzboy. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mr. Masterbilt Posted August 7, 2011 Members Share Posted August 7, 2011 Dylan sucks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Opa John Posted August 7, 2011 Members Share Posted August 7, 2011 Hey there,New to the forums and wondering if you guys could help me out with this one. My summer project is learning Bob Dylan's self-titled album...but I'm having trouble picking up his picking style. I'm pretty sure he doesn't use a pick, but it sounds like he's frailing or doing some clawhammer variation (to be honest, I'm not super familiar with either term, but I don't think he's classically 'finger-picking')Here's a vid I've been looking at (Man of Constant Sorrow from 1963): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_tD9BuA1icCan anyone describe (in)exactly what he's doing with his right hand? It'd be greatly appreciated.Thanks for the help! I look forward to contributing and learning from these forums.J I didn't see anything technically difficult in that particular video. It just Bob's way of flatpicking/strumming. It's obvious that he's using a flat pick. And doing it about midway between the sound hole and the bridge makes it a little easier to do it and maintain a smooth strummimg pattern. I'd also wager he's using a fairly thin pick to do it........which would also make the strumming easier to do. Well, for me it would, anyway. Hell, to be honest, for all intents and purposes, that's pretty much the way I've been strumming and picking my entire life. Way back when I started (about 50 years ago) it just seemed to be the natural way to do it. As for YOU, Mr. Masterbilt........go suck an egg! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Terry Allan Hall Posted August 7, 2011 Members Share Posted August 7, 2011 Dylan sucks [video=youtube;1xUxl6TT--w] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Hoddy Posted August 7, 2011 Members Share Posted August 7, 2011 Dylan sucks I like him with the Traveling Wilburys!:phil: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Opa John Posted August 7, 2011 Members Share Posted August 7, 2011 Terry, I think whoever's been "trolling" that dude has him perfectly "pegged". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Chordchunker Posted August 8, 2011 Members Share Posted August 8, 2011 YwSZvHqf9qM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarcapo Posted August 8, 2011 Members Share Posted August 8, 2011 He uses this weird tuning for Shelter From the Storm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members larry50 Posted August 8, 2011 Members Share Posted August 8, 2011 Dylan sucks Another gem from Mr. MasterRace. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SnorkelMonkey Posted August 9, 2011 Members Share Posted August 9, 2011 Multi-track with vocal overdubs? I can't sing and play a lot of the more intricate finger style stuff I do. I would imagine a young Bobby Dylan in their early 20's might not either? When I sing more intricate songs live I sometimes do a half ass finger style or on more syncopated stuff I'll just break down and strum with maybe a hint of finger style here and there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members garthman Posted August 9, 2011 Members Share Posted August 9, 2011 He uses this weird tuning for Shelter From the Storm He uses open D for Shelter from the Storm. In fact every song on BOTT was originally in open D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members amadylan Posted August 9, 2011 Members Share Posted August 9, 2011 Check out this sight for loads of information about Dylan. His songs, tabs, harp keys, etc. Lots of stuff: http://dylanchords.info And of course: http://www.bobdylan.com/ And a very good album although I think underrated is - "World Gone Wrong"He self produced this album and it consists of solo vocals, accoustic flat picking (I think) and harmonica. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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